A CONCEPT OF A TENSION SYSTEM IN A WORKING-MEMORY PLAN WAS STUDIED TO IMPLEMENT A COUNSELING APPROACH EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING THE RATE OF HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS. COLLEGE FRESHMEN AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS (178) WERE EQUALLY DIVIDED BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS EQUATED ON AGE, CLASS, SEX, AND INTELLIGENCE. ALL SUBJECTS WERE INDIVIDUALLY TESTED FOR THE TENDENCY TO RESUME A TASK AFTER BEING INTERRUPTED WITH AN ALTERNATE TASK. FREQUENCY OF RESUMPTION OF THE INTERRUPTED TASK AND LENGTH OF THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN COMPLETION OF THE ALTERNATE TASK AND RESUMPTION OF THE INTERRUPTED TASK CONSTITUTED THE DEPENDENT VARIABLES. CONCLUSIONS WERE--(1) SUBJECTS WITH A PLAN WILL TEND TO RESUME AN INTERRUPTED TASK MORE FREQUENTLY THAN SUBJECTS WHO HAVE NO PLAN, BUT NO MORE QUICKLY THAN SUBJECTS WITHOUT A PLAN. (2) SEX OF SUBJECTS INTERACTS WITH OTHER FACTORS TO PRODUCE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS UPON THE TENDENCY TO RESUME AN INTERRUPTED TASK. (JC)